ellis



4 Sheets-S heet 11.

(No Model.)

0. S. ELLIS. TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 28, 1896.

z $51 0 fine DREW BVGRANAM PHOTO-mm. WASHINGTON. I18.

(No Model.) 4 Sheet sShee1-, 2.

0. s. ELLIS. TYPE. WRITING MACHINE No. 559,126. Patented Apr, 28',18-96.

(No'ModeL) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

O. S. ELLIS. TYPE WRITING MACHINE. No. 559,126. PatentedApr. 28, 1896(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

G. S. ELLIS. TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

qlfl HHHHHIIfllI-llllfl llllllll lHlllllHlllEllH 7)i%n-H"U HHHIIHH Fl Zwwwx H \g HWHWH VT Nrrnn STATES ATENT rrrcn CHARLES S. ELLIS, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELLIS- SOUTHIVIOK COMPANY, OF SAMEPLACE.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 559,126, dated April28, 1896. Application filed April 23,1894. Serial No. 508,662. (Nomodel.)

T0 00% whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. ELLIS, of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Type-Writing Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to type-writing machines of that class in whichthe papercarriage as it is advanced step by step to bring the paper intoposition for successive action of the types thereon is moved throughvarying distances to permit the use of types having varying widths offaces and whether bearing single letters or groups of letters.

The present invention embraces a feed motion of the kind above referredto in connection with means by which the same is adapted for use 011that class of type-writing machines in which one set of keys is employedto act-uate type bars carrying two characters or types, and a shiftingkey is used to move the paper-carriage, so as to bring the paper intoposition to receive an impression from either set of characters-as, forinstance, upper or lower case letters.

The features constituting this invention are herein shown in connectionwith a machine having paper-carriage-feeding devices of the same generalcharacter as those illustrated in prior applications for patents SerialNo. @6570, filed January 20, 1894;, and Serial No. 502,791, filed March8, 1894:.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointedout in the appended claims.

My invention may be more readily understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view in rear elevation ofa type-writing machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation showing the parts at the topof the machine as seen from one end of the same. Fig. 4 is a verticalsection through the rear part of the machine, taken on line l 4 of Figs.1 and 2. Figs. 5, 6,7, and

S are views showing separately the several actuating-cams of themachine. Fig. 9 is a view from beneath, showing the parts of thekey-levers adjacent to the cross-bars through the medium of which thefeed devices are actuated. Fig. 10 is a detail sectional elevation takenon line 1O 10 of Fig. 4:. Fig. 11 is a detail plan view of theratchet-shaft and ratchets. Fig. 12 is a detail side view of theshifting bar shown in Fig. 9 and its connections.

WVhile my improvements may be embodied in other forms of machine, I havechosen to illustrate them in a machine of the Remington type, A beingthe main frame; B, the paper-carriage; Z),the impression-roller mountedon the carriage B, and O C the key-levers which are mounted in the frameA in the usual manner.

The type-bars and their connections are omitted, as having no directconcern with the invention. It is to be understood that the typescarried by the several bars may be of any desired width and may embraceany desired number of letters since the feed-controlling devices are soconstructed that the paper-carriage will be moved upon the aetuation ofeither key-lever a distance corresponding with the width of the typewhich is borne by the typearm actuated by that lever.

D indicates a revolving shaft, which is located horizontally at theupper part of the machine-frame at the rear of the paper-carriage and atright angles with the path of movement of the latter and which isemployed as a medium through which the movement of the paper-carriage iscontrolled. Said carriage is actuated by the usual actuatingspring, thedrawings illustrating the usual drum D, which is actuated by the spring(not shown) and over which is trained a cord or chain'D which connectsthe drum with the carriage in a familiar manner. Said shaft D isprovided with a gear wheel or pinion d, Figs. 4 and 11, whichintermeshes with a rack D on the carriage, so that endwise movement ofthe carriage under the action of its actuatingspring will produce rotarymotion of said shaft.

The rotation of the shaft D under the action of the carriage-actuatingspring is controlled through the medium of the following devices: Eindicates a ratchet, which is rigidly secured to the shaft D and whichhas its teeth so directed that those at its top present their abruptfaces toward the side of the machine toward which the carriage is movedby the action of the actuating-spring. E is a second ratchet, mounted toturn on the shaft D and having its teeth directed in the same way asthose of the ratchet E. Said ratchets are separated from each other by ashort interval and between them is located a spring F, so applied thatits resilient action tends to turn the loose ratchet E in the samedirection that the shaft revolves in the advance movement of the uppercarriage. Said spring is herein shown as having the form of a coiledwire placed around a hub e on the ratchet E and attached to the adjacentfaces of the ratchets. Stop-pins e e extend from the adjacent faces ofthe ratchets and are adapted to engage each other when the ratchet J isrestrained from forward rotation and the shaft D is turned forward bythe movement of the carriage. A sleeve or collar G is mounted on theshaft D, so as to turn therewith, but is free to slide endwise thereon,the sleeve being engaged by a spline d on the shaft or otherwise heldfrom rotation on the latter. Said sleeve G is provided adjacent to theratchet E with a concentric parti-cylindric flange G, adapted to enter aparti-circular slot 0, formed in the ratchet E opposite said flange. Theflange G is provided on its outer edge with a series of steps or offsetsg g, corresponding in number with the number of units of movement of theshaft D contained in the possible total rotary movement thereof, saidsteps or offsets being separated from each other by an angular distancecorresponding with the angular distance between the teeth of theratchets E E. The several steps or shoulders g g constitute stops,either of which may be made to limit the forward rotary movement of theratchet E under the action of the spring F by contact of the end of theslot 6 in said ratchet with one or another of said shoulders, accordingto the distance to which the shouldered flange has been thrust into theslot of the ratchet by the movement of the sleeve G endwise on theshaft. Said sleeve G is given variable endwise movement on the shaft forthe purpose of bringing a desired stop into action through the medium ofdevices actuated by the several key-levers, as will be hereinafterdescribed.

H is an oscillating detent-arm attached to a rock-shaft h in a planeparallel with the shaft D and carrying at its free end aseparatelymovable piece or pawl H, which is adapted to immediatelyengage the teeth of the ratchets E E, said pawl being arranged to engageone or the other of the said two ratchets at opposite limits of thevibratory movement of the detent-arm I-I. Secured to said rock-shaft his a rigid arm h, which extends horizontally therefrom and to the freeend of which is connected a bar H which extends across the machine-frameabove and at right angles with the key-levers and to the ends of whichare connected two depending rods 7L2 h ,which extend downwardly past theouter key-levers and are attached at their lower ends to a cross-bar Hon which the several key-levers act when depressed. A coiled spring Hplaced around the rock-shaft h and attached at one end to said shaft andat its opposite end to a pin 7L3 on the frame, tends to hold the upperend of the detent-lever and the pawl II in position to engage the looseratchet E. Upon the depression of either key-lever the detent-lever willbe moved, through the medium of the rods 71 7L2 and bar H against theaction of the spring H, so as to carry it in engagement with the fixedratchet E. In Fig. 4 of the drawings the parts are shown in their normalposition with the pawl H engaged with the loose ratchet. Said pawl H isshown as provided below its pivot with a rigid arm h, which in thisinstance forms an integral part of said pawl and is adapted for contactwith the arm H in such manner that the pawl will be held from backwardmovement when in contact with the abrupt face of either of the ratchetteeth, and will thereby act to positively hold the ratchet with which itis engaged from forward rotation. The pawl thus constructed will,however, allow the ratchet engaged by it to turn freely backward, andthereby per-- mit backward turning of the said shaft. The said pawl Hmay be yieldingly held in working position either by a spring or weight,the arm 71 in the particular construction shown being made sufficientlyheavy to retain the pawl in such working position. By the yielding ofthe pawl H in the manner stated the paper-carriage may be movedbackwardly to its starting-point when the end of a line is reached or atany other time, the shaft D merely turning backward as the carriage ispushed backwardly without affecting in any way the action of the feedingdevices. Devices are, however, provided by which the rack-bar D maybereleased from the pinion d at the time of shifting the carriage, as willbe hereinafter described.

The end of the pawl H which engages the ratchets is made wider than thespace between said ratchets, so as to continue in engagement with oneratchet until it becomes engaged with the other, and the teeth of theratchets are of equal size, and the stops or pins 6 a as well as theshoulders g g of the stop-flange G, bear such angular relation to theratchet-teeth that when the shaft and ratchets are at rest the teeth ofthe ratchets will be opposite each other. The pawl H may thus be swunglaterally at any time from engagement with a tooth of one ratchet intoengagement with the opposite tooth of the other ratchet.

Lateral movement of the pawl H from engagement with the fixed ratchettakes place at each depression of a key, and the reenlease from pressureof the key-lever.

gagement of the pawl with the loose ratchet E takes place upon theascent of the keylever. The connections described for throwing the pawlare so arranged that the opera tion of each key moves said pawl to thesame extent.

It will be seen that the shaft D will be held from turning under theaction of the carriageactuating spring by engagement of the pawl H witheither the fixed ratchet E or the loose ratchet E, and that when thepawl is engaged with the loose ratchet said turning of the shaft will beprevented by contact of the stop-pins e e with each other. It is alsoobvious that when the pawl H is engaged with the fixed ratchet, as seenin Fig. 4, and the stop-pins onthe two ratchets are in contact with eachother, if the pawl be then swung into engagement with the fixed ratchetthe loose ratchet will be turned forward by the action of the spring Funtil arrested by contact of the end of its curved slot with one of theshoulders g g of the stepped or shouldered segment. It will also beobvious that the extent of angular movement of the loose ratchet undersuch action of the spring will depend upon which one of the shoulders gg is at the time in position for contact with said loose ratchet, andthat inasmuch as the said shoulders are located at an angular distanceapart equal to the angle between the ratchet-teeth the loose ratchetwill be turned to an angular distance of one, two, three, or more of theratchet-teeth, according to the angular distance of the shoulder G,which is then in position of rest, from starting-point of the said looseratchet, said starting-point being the position at which it stands whenreleased by the movement of the pawl.

It follows from the above that when the pawl H is vibrated or shiftedalternately from one ratchet to the other by successive operations ofthe key-lever the shaft D will be caused by the force of thecarriage-spring to revolve intermittingly or by a-step-by-step movement,and that the extent of each advance movement or step of thepaper-carriage will be determined by the extent to which the looseratchet has previously been allowed to turn 011 the shaft under theaction of the spring F before striking one of the shoulders of thestop-segment. The forward movement of the carriage and the attendantrotary movement of the shaft of course takes place immediately after andin consequence of the retraction of the pawl H from engagement with thefixed ratchet, or, in other words, upon re- Each time the shaft is thusturned by the action of the carriage-actuating spring the spring F willbe put under its maximum tension, and said spring F is made of suchstrength that it may be readily overcome by the carriagespring, while atthe same time it is strong enough to properly turn the loose ratchet.

Next, concerning the devices shown for transmitting motion from thekey-levers to are made as follows: J is a lever mounted on a horizontalpivot j, which is mounted on the machine-frame below the said sleeve,the means shown for supporting said pivot consisting of a dependingbracket A which is secured to the rear margin of the top plate of theframe and serves to support said pivot, as well as other parts below thesame, as will hereinafter appear. The lever J is forked at its upper endand provided with inwardlyextending pins, which engage an annular groove9' in the said stop-sleeve G, Figs. 4 and 11, these parts being soconstructed in a familiar manner that the movement of the lever willshift the stop-sleeve endwise on the shaft, while at the same time thesleeve is free to revolve with the shaft. Mounted on the lower end ofsaid lever J is an antifriction-roller J ,which is adapted to be actedupon by either one of the series of rotative or otherwise movabledifferentiated cams K K K K placed side by side. Through the medium ofone or another of these cams motion is transmitted from a key-lever whenthe same is depressed to the lever J and sliding stopsleeve G. The camsK K K K as shown in the accompanying drawings, are four in number, orone less than the number of stopshoulders g on the flange G, and theyare mounted 011 a common pivot-stud k, which is secured in the lowerforked end of the bracket A hereinbefore mentioned, Fig. 1. For givingmotion to the said cams K KK K a corresponding number of bars L LL L arearranged beneath the key-levers transversely thereto. Said bars arevertically movable and are severally connected with said cams bysuitable intermediate connections so arranged that when either of saidbars is depressed the cam connected therewith will be moved or turned.

The cams K K K K are provided with dissimilar cam-surfaces so shaped orproportioned that each cam will move or shift the sleeve G into adifferent position on the shaft and thereby bring one or another of theseveral stop-shoulders g 9 into position for engagement with the looseratchet E. The cams illustrated are of the kind having peripheralcam-surfaces, and the roller J is held in contactwith the cams by meansof a spring J connected with an arm j on the machineframe and with thelever J in such manner asto throw the said roller toward the cams, thespring thus arranged serving to move the sleeve G in one direction,while each of the cams may move the sleeve in the opposite direction andserves to determine its position when so moved. The said cams may be soarranged as to move the sleeve G either toward or from the loose ratchetwhen a keylever is depressed, and in any case the sleeve may occupy,when unmoved by either cam, a position affording the extent of feedmotion required for a type or types of a certain For instance, thesleeve G may stand width.

normally in position for contact of the loose ratchet with the firststop-shoulder, so as to 3 afford only one unit of movement in the;

sleeve G when neither cam is moved, and .the

four cams may be arranged to throw the sleeve 1 at such unequaldistances from the loose ratchet that the same will strike either thesecond, third, fourth, or fifth stop-shoulder,

operated with a minimum extent of movement of the-sleeve, the latter, inthe machine herein shown, is arranged to stand normally in positionforcontact of the loose ratchet with Z the second stop-shoulder, and onecam is arranged to advance the sleeve toward the ratchet, so that thelatter shall strike the first i stop-shoulder, (or that nearest thesleeve G,)

while the other three cams are constructed to retract the sleeve fromthe loose ratchet, so

that said ratchet will be arrested by either the third, fourth, or fifthstop-shoulder, as desired. In this way the feed devices are operatedWith a minimum extent of movement in the sleeve, the secondstop-shoulder being the one which affords an extent of feed common tothe greatest number of characters or types, the first, third, and fourthgiving the extent of feed required by a less number of types, while thefifth shoulder gives the greatest extent of feed and one which is calledfor by the least number of types.

Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 illustrate the several cams separated from eachother and show clearly the manner in which the lever J is actuated toadvance or retract the sleeve. The cam K (shown in Fig 8) is the onewhich advances the sleeve, and this cam is so arranged that the roller Jrests on its concentric portion most remote from its supporting-studwhen the cam stands in its normal position, so that when a key actuatingthe cam is depressed the cam will be turned in a direction to carry theroller upon that part of its surface nearer the stud, as seen in Fig. 8,and thus give the desired advance movement to the sleeve. Similarly thecams K, K, and K Figs. 5, G, and 7, are shown with the roller J restingon the larger parts thereof when the same are shifted by the action ofthe keys, the cams in this instance being so arranged that depression ofthe key-levers will carry the larger part of the cam beneath the rollerJ and thus retract the sleeve from the ratchet E.

As before stated, only certain of the keylevers actuate each of the camsK K K K and it will of course be understood that all the levers whichcontrol types requiring the same extent of feed will actuate the samecams, so that the number of cams employed in any case will be one lessthan the number of units of feed movement provided for in the machine,no movement of the sleeve being required for the types of one certainwidth, as hereinbefore explained. The machine shown in the accompanyingdrawings affords five units of movement, and therefore contains fourcams. It follows that in said machine the type-levers will comprise fivegroups, of which one group gives no movement whatever to thefeed-controlling devices, another group actuates the cam K to move thecarriage through a distance equal to one unit of movement, a third groupactuates the cam K to effect the movement of the carriage through adistance equal to three units of movement, the fourth group actuates the.cam K, so as to permit a movement of the carriage through a distanceequal to four units of movement, and the fifth group similarly actuatesthe cam K, so as to afford five units of movement, this being thegreatest movement contemplated in the machine shown.

It will of course be understood that the number of steps orstop-shoulders g on the stop-flange G and the number of cams foractuating the sleeve G will be increased when it is desired to providefor a greater number of type-groups and that the extent of feed may beincreased to any extent within the limits determined by the number ofshoulders g g with which the stop-flange Gr may be convenientlyprovided. It follows that the machine may be provided with typewords ofany width desired by adding a cam for each additional width of type.

Each of the bars L L L L by which the cams are actuated, is adapted tobe moved by a limited number only of the key-levers, and one of the barsL is capable of movement and adapted for actuation by either one of twosets or groups of key-levers, while the other three bars L L L areadapted for actuation each by one set or group of said key-levers. Forsuch actuation of the bars by the key -levers the latter are providedwith depending projections Z) I) b b 6 of which the projections 12 b areadapted to act upon the bar L when the latter bar is shifted backward orforward to bring it under one or the other set, while the projections bb I)" act on the bars L L L respectively, as clearly seen in Fig. 4.

As hereinbefore mentioned, the machine shown is of that class in whicheach typelever carries two types or characters, and in which thecarriage is shifted back and forth to print one or another of thecharacters by means of a special lever or shifting key 0, the sametype-lever in case of the letters of the alphabet carrying both thecapital and small or lower-case letters. The two sets of projections 19b are applied to those key-levers which control type-arms carrying typesof different widths or those carrying a different extent of feedas, forinstance, those carrying the letters F f or T t. The projections 11 b bare applied to levers which control the type-arms which carry two typesof the same width and which require the same extent of feed-that is tosay, in the case of the letters T and L the capital letters will requirewider spaces and a greater extent of feed than the lower-case letters.It is necessary, therefore, that depression of the keylevers carryingsuch types of unequal width should not produce an equal feed, and by theuse of the two sets of projections b b, together with connectionsbetween the spacingkey and the bar L, by which the said bar may be movedfrom beneath the projections 11 or Z) at the time the carriage isshifted, I am able to secure a varying extent of feed -for the two typescarried by the type-arm,

the extent of feed produced when the bar L is depressed by the action ofone of the projections being that afforded by the cam with which saidbar is connected, and the extent of feed produced when the bar L isshifted clear of the projections being that which is produced when thetop sleeve remains unmoved; this, in the present instance, being twounits of movement.

In the ease of other letters-such, for instance, as M and XV --theamount of feed may be the same for both the capital and small orlower-case letters, and in that case no change in the extent of feedmovement is required when the carriage is shifted to print one letter orthe other and the feeding is accomplished on the depression of each key,whether the carriage be shifted or not, in the same manner as in themachine set forth in mysaid concurrently-pending application, Serial No.496,570, filed January 20, 1894.

j The machine shown is provided with four key levers having projectionsb, beneath which the bar L normally rests, these being the levers forprinting F, J, L, and T. The bar L in this instance controls the cam Kwhich affords a movement equal to one unit of movement, this being allthat is required for the lower-case or small letters f, j, l, and t.WVhen the shifting key is actuated,the bar L is carried rearwardly frombeneath said projections Z), so that when either of the key-leverscarrying said projections is depressed neither of the cams will beoperated and the carriage will be moved a distance of two units ofmovement, this being the distance which the carriage will be allowed tomove in the machine shown when the stop-segment is unmoved.

As a convenient means of communicating motion from the bar L and the camK devices are provided as follows: A rocking bar M is pivotallysupported on a bracket m at-. tached to the machine-frame, said barextending horizontally above the key-levers to q a point some distancein advance of the cams.

' Said bar M is connected at its ends with theare arranged horizontallyabove the type- The said rock-shafts are shown as provided with s rin s-0 O O which are connected with the frame and with the rock-shafts insuch manner as to turn the rock-shafts in a direction to lift theseveral bars L L L and to thereby maintain said bars adjacent to or incontact with the projections 11 19 Zr of the key-levers. The severalcams are thus held normally in one position and turned in one directionby the springs M O 0 O and movement of said cams in the oppositedirection is produced by pressure of the key-levers acting against thebars L L L L in opposition to said spring.

The device above described obviously affords merely one convenient meansof transmitting motion from the vertical immovable bars L LL L which aredirectly acted upon by the keydevers, to the several cams, and otherforms of mechanical construction may be employed for this purpose asmaybe found convenient and desirable.

The device for transmitting motion from the shifting-key lever (3 isseen at the righthand side of Fig. 9 and is shown in side view in Fig.12. This key-lever is provided with a depending lug c, and mounted 011the side frame of the machine adjacent to said lug is a bell-crank leverP, provided with a horizontal arm 19, which is connected with the lug c.j, The lever P is also provided witha depending arm 1), the lower end ofwhich is connected by means of a rod 19 and the bar L. As will beclearly seen from the drawings, Figs. 9, 10, and 12, when the spacingkeylever is depressed the lower end of the bell-crank lever P will be swungrearwardly, thereby shifting or moving the bar L the required distanceto carry it out from beneath the projections 19 b.

It will be noted that projections Z) I), hereinbefore referred to andclearly seen in Figs. 9 and 12, are so located that when the bar L isshifted rearwardly, as described, it will come beneath said projections.This construction is employed for those key-levers which actuatetype-arms carrying two characters, of which the wider one stands inposition for printing when the paper-carriage is in its normal positionand the narrower one is adapted to act when the paper-carriage isshifted by the action of the shifting key, this being just the reverseof the action occurring in the case of the upper and lower case lettersF, J, L, and T, hereinbefore referred to. One of the key-levers is shownas provided with a projection b, which is of such length as to act uponthe bar L when the latter is in either its forward or rearward position.This key-lever controls a type-arm which carries two characters such, asthe colon and semicolonboth of which require a small and equal amount offeed movement.

The machine made as described is operated in the same manner as is anyother machine having a shifting key, the movement of the latter forgiving different characters in all cases when the characters are ofdifferent widths producing a different extent of feed. Characters of thesame width are, however, as far as possible,placed on the sametype-levers, so that in a machine adapted for common use, such as isherein shown, a few only of the keys need operate characters ofdifferent widths and these are mainly the keys which control thetype-arms carrying the letters F, J, L, and T, as before described. Itwill, of course, be understood that in operating the machine shown ifthe shifting key be untouched the depression of either of the keyscontrolling the letters F, J, L, and T will result in the printing ofthe lower-case letters, and that thebar L will be unmoved laterally,but-will be depressed by one of the projections b, so that the camgiving one unit of movement will be thereby actuated. If, however, theshifting key be first depressed, then the actuation of one of said keyswill result in the printing of the capital letter, and the bar L will bemoved so as to be free from the action of said projection and no camwill be moved, but the paper will be fed a distance equal to two unitsof movement. The action of the keys bearing the projections b b issimilar but opposite to that of those which actuate letters of thealphabet bearing the projections Z) 1).

While I have shown only one of the bars L L L L as adapted to be shiftedfor changing the extent of feed consequent on the depression of a singlelever, yet the same principles of construction may be applied to anyother or all of the said bars. It is to be understood, however, that thearrangement of one of the bars so that it may be shifted will not eifectits action in connection with those key-levers which control two typesof the same width, provided the projection on said key-leverscontrolling types of the same width are made like the projection If,above describedthat is to say, of sufficient length to act on the barequally in both its forward and rearward positions.

In case two of the bars are made movable and both are actuated by theshifting key, one key-lever may have two projections severally adaptedfor operating on the two movable bars. In such case the shifting of bothbars will carry one bar from beneath one projection on a key-lever atthe same time the other bar is carried beneath the other proj ection onthe same lever, so that the two types of any widths desired may becarried by the type-arm which is actuated by that type-leveras, forinstance, in such case one typelever may control types requiring anextent of feed in the carriage of one and three, one and four, or threeand four units of movement.

As the paper-carriage is in this instance shown to be mounted, it iscapable of being lifted and lowered as in other machines of the typeillustrated, the arrangement of the connection between the rack-bar andthe carriage permitting the said rack-bar to remain in engagement withthe pinion d on the shaft D when the carriage is swung upon its pivotalsupport in being lifted and lowered.

In the operation of a type-writing machine of the character shown it isoften necessary to release the carriage from control of the autoinaticfeed devices, so as to permit said carriage to be moved by hand to adesired point. This is required, for instance, in inserting a letter inplace of one erased. In the machine shown provision is made for soreleasing the carriage from the feed devices by so constructing therack-bar D that the same will be vertically movable, thereby enabling itto be disengaged at will from the pinion (Z on the shaft D, the devicesillustrated for lifting the rack-bar being substantially the same asthose heretofore used in machines having a feed device of escapementform for lifting the ratchet-bar thereof clear of the feed-pawl. In theconstruction herein illustrated, how ever, devices are provided inaddition to those present 011 machines of the character referred toadapted for holding the rack-bar D normally in engagement with thepinion, while at the same time permitting the retraction of the bar awayfrom the pinion when sufficient force is applied to the bar for thepurpose.

The device illustrated for the purpose last mentioned consists of anantifriction-roller q, which is mounted upon a vertically-movable blockQ in such manner as to overhang the rack-bar and to bear on the upperedge of the latter. The block Q has sliding connection with a bracket Q,which is attached to the top surface of the upper frame-plate, asclearly seen in Fig. 2. Means for providin g such sliding connection,herein shown, consists of two guide-rods q g Fig. 2, which guide-rodsare secured at their upper ends in the block Q and extend downwardlythrough vertical guide-apertures in the bracket Q. A spring Q is soapplied as to thrust and carry the block Q downwardly and thereby holdthe roller q in contact with the upper edge of the rack-bar; but thedownward movement of the block is limited by a suitably located stop, sothat the rack-bar will be held by the roller in position to engage thepinion without being pressed forcibly against the latter. Such stop, asshown, is formed by the top of the bracket Q, in contact with which theblock Q normally rests. The spring Q is shown as made of spirally-coiledform and as surrounding the depending end of the rod g, which isextended downwardly below the bracket Q for this purpose, said springbeing located between a head (1 at the lower end of the rod and thebottom surface of the said bracket. The roller q, being held in theposition described by the spring Q, retains the vertically-movablerack-bar D in engagement with the pinion under all ordinarycircumstances, while at the same time it is adapted to yield upwardly toallow the rack-bar to be disengaged from the pinion when necessary.

The rack-bar D as before stated, is made vertically movable by devicessuch as have heretofore been employed on Remington typewriters, the samebeing made as follows: Said rack-bar is carried by two arms D D whichare pivotally connected with the sleeve 0' r, permitting the rack-bar tomove or o'scil late vertically, in the manner heretofore described. Forlifting the rack-bar free from the pinion d an actuating-arm D isattached to one of the arms D and such actuatingarm is provided with athumb-piece extending beyond the side of said carriage in the samemanner as does the corresponding actuating-arm in said Remingtonmachine. A device is also provided like that used in the Remingtonmachine for lifting the rack-bar, adapted for operation by the thumb orfinger of the left hand. The same consists of a rock-shaft S, having anupwardly-extending actuating-arm or finger-piece 3, located near theforward edge of the carriage, Fig. 1, and having also a horizontal arm8, which is adapted to engage and press downwardly upon an arm D", whichis rigidly attached to the rack-bar and extends forward past the pivotalaxis on which said rack-bar swings to a point beneath and in positionfor engagement with the arm 8. By pressing 011 the finger-piece s at thetime the carriage-frame is in its horizontal position the arm .9 willpress downwardly upon the free end of the arm D and thus lift therack-bar. As in the Remington type-writer, also, the lever T, by whichthe impression-roller is turned, is also adapted to act upon the arm D,as clearly seen in Fig. 3, so as to depress the said arm and lift therack-bar at the time said lever T is moved, for the purpose of turningthe impression-roller and also moving the carriage back to itsstarting-point at the completion of each line in printing.

The rack-bar D is shown as provided at one end with a guide rod or wireU, which is arranged parallel therewith and' carries an adjustable stopa, which is adapted for engagement with the bell-hammer-actuatin g armu, by which the hammer Uis actuated to strike the alarm-bell U at theend of the forward travel of the paper-carriage.

I desire to be understood that the form of either of the above-describedmechanisms or devices may be varied and that either feature of theimprovement set forth may be employed without the others, or that anyone or more of them may be omitted or replaced, without avoidance of myinvention.

I claim as my invention 1. In a type-writing machine of the class inwhich the carriage is adapted to be shifted to print from either one ofa plurality of types, the combination, of carriage-feeding mechanism,a-variable spacing device for controlling the movement of the carriageunder the action of said feeding mechanism, movable projections operatedby the keys, a shifting bar located in position to be acted upon by saidmovable projections, connections between said shifting bar and thevariable spacing device, shifting devices for the papercarriage, andconnections between the movable bar and the carriage-shifting devices,substantially as described.

2. In a type-writin g machine of the class in which the carriage isadapted to be shifted to print from either one of a plurality of types,the combination, of carriage-feeding mechanism, a variable spacingdevice for controlling the movement of the carriage under the action ofsaid feeding mechanism, key-levers provided with depending projections,a shifting bar located in position to be acted upon by said movableprojections, connections between said shifting bar and the variablespacing device, shifting devices for the papercarriage, and connectionsbetween the shifting bar and the carriage shifting devices,substantially as described.

3. In a type-writing machine of the class in which the carriage isadapted to be shifted to print from either one of a plurality of types,the combination, of carriage-feeding mechanism, a variable spacingdevice for controlling the movement of the carriage under the action ofsaid feeding mechanism, movable projections operated by the keys, aplurality of bars located in position to be acted upon by said movableprojections, one of which bars is movable laterally, a plurality of camsactuated by said bars, connections between said cams and the variablespacing device, shifting devices for the paper-carriage, and connectionsbetween said movable bar and the carriage-shit ting devices,substantially as described.

4. In a type-writing machine of the class in which the carriage isadapted to be shifted to print from either one of a plurality of types,

the combination, of paper-feeding mechan ism, a variable spacing devicefor controlling the movement of the carriage under the action of saidfeeding mechanism, movable bars adapted to be acted upon by the keys,one of said bars being adapted to be shifted, cams which are acted uponby said movable bars, connections between said cams and the variablespacing device, a shifting key for the paper-carriage, and connectionsbetween said shifting key and said movable bar, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a type-writing machine of that class in which the carriage isadapted to be shifted to print from either one of a plurality of types,the combination, of carriage-feedin g mechanism, a variable spacingdevice for controlling the movement of the carriage under the action ofsaid feeding mechanism, key-levers provided with depending projections,movable bars adapted to be acted upon by said projections, camsconnected with and actuated by said bars, connections between said camsand the variable spacing device, a shifting-key lever for thepaper-carriage, and connections between said shiftingkey lever and oneof said movable bars, substantially as described.

(3. The combination with key-levers each controlling a plurality oftypes of a shifting lever, means for giving a variable feed, comprisinga ratchet movable with the papercarriage, a second ratchet movablerelatively to the first ratchet, alat-erally-movable detent actuated bythe key-levers and adapted for alternate engagement with said ratchets,a movable part having steps or graduated stopshoulders adapted to limitthe relative in ovement of the two ratchets, operative connectionsbetween the key-levers and the said movable part embracing movable barsadapted to be acted upon by the key-levers, one of which bars is adaptedto be laterally shifted, and connections between the shifting lever andsaid shifting bar, substantially as described.

7. The combination with key-levers each controlling a plurality of typesand a shifting lever, of means for giving a variable feed comprising aratchet movable with the papercarriage, a second ratchet movablerelatively to the first ratchet, alaterally-movable detent actuated bythe key-levers and adapted for alternate engagement with said ratchets,a movable part having steps or graduated stopshoulders adapted to limitthe relative movement of the two ratchets, and operative connectionsbetween the key-levers and the said movable part embracing movable barsadapted to be acted upon by the key-levers, one of which bars is adaptedto be shifted laterally, connections between the shifting lever and saidshifting bar, and cams which are moved by the said movable bars andwhich are connected with and give movement to the said movable partwhich carries the stop-shoulders, substantially as described.

8. In a type-writing machine of that class in which the carriage isadapted to be shifted to print from either one of a plurality of types,the combination, of carriage-feeding mechanism, a variable spacingdevice for controlling the movement of the carriage under the action ofsaid feeding mechanism, movable bars operated by the keys, one of saidbars being adapted to be shifted laterally, connections between saidmovable bars and the variable spacing device, a shifting-key lever forshifting the paper-carriage, and con nections between said shifting-keylever and the said shifting bar embracing a bell-crank lever,substantially as described.

9. The combination with a paper-carriage and means for giving feedmotion to the same embracing a pinion on the machine-frame, the rotationof which is controlled by the action of the keys, a rack-bar connectedwith the carriage and engaged with said pinion, said rack-bar beingvertically movable to permit its engagement with and disengagement fromthe said pinion, means yieldingly engaging the upper surface of the saidrackbar to hold the same normally in engagement with the pinion,embracing an antifriction-roller engaging the rack-bar, and anupwardly-yielding support for said antifri'ction-roller, substantiallyas described.

10. The combination with apaper-carriage and means for giving feedmotion to the same embracinga pinion on the machine-frame,

the rotation of which is controlled by the action of the keys, arack-bar connected with the carriage and engaged with said pinion, saidrack-bar being vertically movable to permit its engagement with anddisengagement from the said pinion, a vertically-movableantifriction-roller engaging the rack-bar so as to hold the same in itsnormal or operative position, and aspring applied to depress the saidroller to hold the same in engagement with the rack-bar, substantiallyas described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aflix mysignature in pres ence of two witnesses.

CHARLES S. ELLIS.

IVitnesses:

ALBERT II. GRAVES, TAYLOR E. BROWN.

